A/N: And we're back…for now.

Hopefully, this is still up to standard after a long time on a writer's block.

Do please read and review, would you kindly?

And keep it classy!

…

[Unknown Garden World]

The land was on fire, like one of the deadlier locales on Tuchanka. Pools of lava could be seen in the distance, along with crystal spires about the size of a house. Aside from the labyrinthine network of caves, gigantic, hexagonal panels of basalt covered the ground at different heights, which mandated careful steps to navigate. Not helping matters in Wrex's mind was the fact that many of their supplies were on the lifeboat as it disintegrated in a river of lava. The only things they managed to salvage were the distress beacon, a handful of thermal clips for each of the eleven survivors, some prefabricated camp modules, and a few ration kits they'd managed to rescue in the nick of time. As far as weaponry went, it could have been much better: while Wrex was able to save a couple of Graal Spike Throwers (including his pride and joy "Maw Crusher"), a Striker assault rifle, a couple of old Ruzad shotguns, and a few Blood Pack Punishers and Executioners that had yet to be added to the fabricator's database.

"How much further, Wrex?" asked a female Krogan, hefting a Spike Thrower. Much of her identity was hidden under the ceremonial headgear that covered the lower half of her face, leaving her eyes to inspect the world around them. Her clothing and armor was scorched from the crash, but her spirit remained unbroken.

Wrex checked his omni-tool, and found that there were two bars on the screen, and only two more to go. The plan was to immediately vacate the area they had crashed in, and find an ideal place to settle. In order to expedite their rescue and stretch their already limited supplies, they needed to find a place on a higher altitude to set up the distress beacon. "We're okay for now, but we need to get higher before we set up camp."

As they traversed the volcanic wasteland, the Krogan survivors were able to see more of the ecology they were trapped in. The place wasn't completely burned and barren; they could see sparse patches of vegetation here and there, consisting mostly of short grasses, though the odd tree and shrub was also present. All of that pointed to signs that water existed in this place of fire, though it was in small oases.

The fauna that predominated the ecology were small amphibians that crawled around placidly while croaking periodically, as well as larger flying animals with long, sharp-toothed beaks. The largest animal they'd seen were herds of bipedal reptiles with horns on their heads that grazed on the grass found in the oases…though they did spot them grazing near the lava as well. In spite of the heat and the slight hint of noxious fumes in the air, life thrived in this land of fire.

All thoughts had come to a halt when a large shadow had blurred past the survivors, forcing them to hide on reflex. Wrex turned his attention to a male Krogan in white armor to his left, nodding in the direction that the shadow had gone; on command, the Krogan looked through the scope of his Striker while he activated an app on his omni-tool to look through his scope. While he could only see the tail, Wrex noted that the creature that showed up on his screen was far larger than the other animals the survivors had seen thus far, and it had something dangling from beneath its rotund form. Overall, it gave him the impression of a bomber that the Volus Air Force took pride in.

"Has it seen us?" asked the shamaness.

"No, but I don't like the look of that thing," Wrex answered, "Whatever it is, it can't be good."

…

[Council Chambers]

Sitting at a circular table away from the public eye were the esteemed members of the Citadel Council. It wasn't often that the Councilors ever got together face-to-face, but whenever they did, it was usually for an emergency; beyond that, it was a form of solidarity between their races to do so regularly. But to ensure the safety of the politicians in the room, each member brought two bodyguards from their own respective peoples for security.

One of the councilors was an Asari with deep blue skin, and white facial markings. While much of her musculature was hidden under the red and white pleather dress she wore, Councilor Gorgo Tevos had participated in -and won!- quite a few duels in her Maiden years on Thessia. As the centuries passed, and she mellowed out into her Matriarch stage, the representative of the Asari Republics had a very simple policy: diplomacy and compromise all the way. And thus, it fell to her to play peacemaker between the other two representatives.

Clad in a dark blue, hooded robe with a red and gold stripe going down the middle was a Salarian with blue scales and white notches printed on his chin. Councilor Nir Valern was like any other Salarian politician in that he liked his wars won before even stepping into the battlefield, preferring to send SPECTRE's or even STG operatives out to perform a surgical strike over a full-on military campaign. That being said, he was not interested in reports of questionable operations undertaken in those same surgical strikes.

On the other end of the spectrum for resolving problems was a Turian with a dark carapace and white facial markings dressed in a blue and black coat, and dark blue pants. Out of all the Councilors, Quintus Sparatus was a soldier long before he was a politician, and so he was a little more militant than his peers. As far as politics went, he was always ready to play the skeptic whenever it came time to make a decision for the Turian Hierarchy, which helped the Citadel Council strengthen its arguments by testing weak spots in any new policy.

The three councilors waited at the table as a holographic timer counted down. As soon as the last second counted out, it was Tevos that would have the first word. "Our meeting today will be in regards to the Athame Initiative's progress. It seems that the Rydia Twins have made it through Relay X, though we have lost contact with them."

"This sounds like a shitstorm waiting to happen," replied Sparatus, "I can see it on the news articles right now: 'Tragedy! Council sends explorers out to their deaths!' This is not looking good so far."

"That's too soon to say," Valern fired back, "Part of the mission statement the Twins have put forth is that they are going to also find a way back to known space from Relay X. We need to be patient if we expect to have any results from this expedition." He then turned his attention back to Tevos. "Though there is one concern that vexes me: you've been against the idea of exploring Relay X since the early days of your career as Councilor. What's changed?"

"It was an idea that grew on me since the twins began to inundate me with requests to explore Sector X," answered Tevos, tenting her fingers together, "Ever since the debacle with the Yahg, what progress have we made to explore the galaxy? How long until we work up the nerve to get back on the uma, and see the universe? In that aspect, I am in agreement with the twins; bad experiences should not be an excuse to not expand our horizons…they should simply be taken as opportunities to learn from our mistakes, and to be cautious in our forays into the universe."

"And what of the Shadow War?" countered Sparatus, "Has it ever occurred to you that we may need the Books back now more than ever should the Batarians decide to declare war on the rest of the Citadel races?"

"The Hegemony is officially in the middle of a ceasefire with us," Tevos reminded, "It was as good a time as any for an expedition, and an opportunity for us to put our best foot forward to whomever is on the other side of the relay. We cannot say with certainty that we will not incur another Rachni War, but at least we will be ready for the next time we send someone through Relay X."

"A sentiment that the Union would be sympathetic to," added Valern, "The Dalatrasses have been itching for an opportunity to send our own expedition into the Relay."

Sparatus sighed in exasperation while pinching the bridge of his nose. Tevos knew instantly that it was not for nothing, as the Krogan Rebellions were started when the Salarians uplifted the Krogans to fight in the Rachni War; and that was before the fact that they thought that doing the same for the Yahg was a good idea. In that regard, the Salarian Union was a double-edged sword: their scientific curiosity was much an asset to the Citadel Council as it was a liability.

"We'll need a way home before we can talk about that," Tevos added pointedly, "There's no point in sending scientists to a place of no return. The Republics are already putting together logistics for an all-Asari expedition, but what of you, Sparatus? What are your thoughts of sending an all-Turian expedition to Sector X?"

"As it is now, the Athame Initiative is a waste of money, ships, and personnel," answered Sparatus, "Whether the long-term gains of this venture will bear fruit, we'll never know; like you said, we still have to find a way to come home from Sector X before I can even consider pitching the idea of an expedition to the Council of Primarchs. So for now, we will not be sending any ships through Relay X."

…

[Council Expeditionary Vessel CSV Book of Bravery, Bridge]

It hadn't been long since the beacons started appearing at various locations, but that was more than enough motivation for the bridge to work faster…though it wouldn't have surprised Scotia if they'd worked round the clock since yesterday. Everyone had a job to do: the Tonitrus-1 was sent to set up camp and secure a rendezvous point for all the survivors of the Discovery; meanwhile, the communications officers worked to establish contact with the escape pods. The distress beacons not only gave out the position of the survivors, but also acted as radio transceivers so that the Bravery would be appraised of new developments from the survivors. So far, three beacons showed up on the continent they were sitting over; luckily, Tonitrus-1's current trajectory was close enough for them to rescue one pod, maybe two if they were pushing it. The other gunships would be sent in once a camp was established, after that a shuttle would be sent to hopefully ferry the survivors back to the Bravery before they were discovered by the natives.

The doors to the bridge opened, allowing passage for an older Asari in a red dress. While Scotia never doubted her sister's diplomatic skill, the addition of an Asari Matriarch in each of the Books was yet another non-negotiable condition, though this one was personally tacked on by Tevos herself. Apparently, the Asari Councilor didn't trust Saria to avoid causing a political shitstorm at First Contact…which put more pressure on the twins to make sure things went smoothly. That said, there was something about Matriarch Aethyta that the elder Rydia twin liked, which was why the two of them hit it off fairly quickly; seeing her outside of the ship's minibar was something of a surprise to Scotia.

"How're things going, Captain?" she asked, a tinge of distress in her voice.

"The rescue ship is in the planet's airspace now," answered Scotia, "With any luck, they won't run into any problems on the way down."

"Do we know who got out?"

"Not yet, we're still trying to establish communications with the other beacons. So far though, we've managed to find three beacons."

Scotia was not as politically-savvy as her sister, but she knew enough to notice the slump in the matriarch's shoulders at that bit of news. "Something wrong?"

"Just feelin' it for the people that just died, y'know?"

"I don't believe it," Scotia countered, "There must've been a reason Tevos sent you to us personally."

Aethyta snorted. "Ol' Gorgo never sent me anywhere…it was Benezia that called in a favor from me to be here."

Upon hearing the name of that particular Matriarch dropped, Scotia raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Benezia was known for her wisdom among other things, along with being the mother of one of the crewmembers on the Discovery…a crewmember she and Saria had personally scouted out. "Does it have to do with someone on the Discovery?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," answered the Matriarch, "I'm still coming to terms with it myself."

Scotia nodded in understanding. "Let me know when you want to talk about it."

Aethyta said nothing, replying with an appreciative nod before leaving the bridge. Scotia turned her attention back to the screen, keeping an eye on the trajectories of the gunships, praying to the Goddess that everything went smoothly.

…

[Unknown Garden World]

Wrex stalked the wasteland with a small team of three other Krogan, their precious few shotguns in hand. With the beacon set up just yesterday and the camp established, all that was needed was to stay put and wait for rescue…though he would be damned if he had to eat another MRE for the duration of his stay on this planet. On the one hand, he had to give his people their due credit for making something that didn't explode, as Krogan MRE's could last as long as fifty years, maybe longer given proper storage as he'd heard of some that had been around since the Rebellions and were still edible. On the other, they were filled with empty calories, and the menu contained in each package was largely the same: a block of hard bread that needed a little effort or boiling to chew through; a packet of powdered electrolytic swill to be mixed with water; a can of preserved Pyjack and Varren meat; a single-use heating element; and a bar of non-melting, stimulant-heavy candy. That said, while they were bland, they were still more palatable and satisfying than the MRE's given to other races, like those tiny boxes of freeze-dried Varren-shit given to Salarian and Asari troops, and especially Turian food-paste.

Everybody in camp shared his exact sentiment, which made it easy for Wrex to round up a party to hunt and forage for tonight's dinner. In this case, the shamaness didn't need to play devil's advocate with him; they needed something to take their mind off the current situation and blow off steam━might as well stretch their rations while they were at it. For this reason, a team of four Krogan would be helpful in collecting fresh ingredients for their field cook to try out.

So far in their expedition, they'd managed to find a variety of mushrooms and herbs, but they'd found suitable prey in the horned reptiles that grazed at an oasis next to a small pool of water near a rocky outcrop with two others. As the Wrex peeked from over the crystal he was hiding behind, he was able to note that the prey was thickly-built, with a thick mane of fur covering their necks and heads while leaving their faces exposed. The shape of their horn-tipped beaks was enough of an indication that they were herbivores, and they could see another set of horns at each side of their heads. He could see the muscles rippling under their scaly hides: powerful legs and small, but strong forelimbs that could lift their bulk off the ground and keep them from drowning while drinking, and a long, sinuous tail that ended in a tuft of fur.

The prey had plenty of room to run, which was why Wrex's hunting team needed to split up so as to prepare their traps in the event they chose to run. Luckily, they had a few blocks of hard bread left to spare, and they used some of the white mushrooms they'd found to help bait their trap; all that was needed was for the signal to begin the hunt. At the same time, the shamaness hid behind another crystal, ready to intercept the herd should they try to run in her direction. With any luck, they would be able to trap at least one of the creatures so that they could bring it with them to camp.

Whatever thoughts Wrex had on mind when a ping had sounded off in his omni-tool; after quickly reading the text that was sent to him, he smiled with excitement, sending his own ping to the shamaness's Omni-tool, letting her know that it was time to commence their part in the hunt. Shouldering Maw Crusher as it fired up, he took aim at the nearest creature and pulled the trigger, sending a volley of superheated spikes down range; the projectiles hit one of the creatures, earning a low of pain as they pierced its hide and digging slightly into its flesh.

With the animal's attention on him, Wrex could see the look of pure, unadulterated fury in its eyes as it was joined by the herd. The three animals let out a low of fury before charging into him with surprising speed for a creature of their size. The shamaness came out from her hiding place to pepper one of the animals with a blast of metal shavings from her Ruzad into its eye as it passed by; while the shot was unable to pierce its hide, it was able to knock it down allowing her enough time to pounce on it, and finish it off with another two shots to the head through the eye socket for good measure. That left two more animals charging towards Wrex, allowing him to fire off two more volleys of spikes before jumping aside, allowing a Krogan behind him to finish off one, while he put down the other with a shot to the knee. With the prey item down, Wrex pulled out his Executioner, and sent a massive round through its skull at point-blank.

Their prey items secured, Wrex and his hunting party dragged their dinner items to inspect their kill with pride. "We are now officially the first Krogan to hunt in Sector X," he said, with no small amount of pride, "That should tide us over for a couple weeks before we need to hunt again."

"We still need to bring them back to camp, Wrex," reminded the shamaness, "After that, we need to figure out how to ration the meat."

Wrex nodded. The camp was about a kilometer away; any further and the hunting trip wouldn't have been worth it. Still, the fact that they found a watering hole presented with yet another opportunity. "Fill your canteens with water," he ordered, "We're having a feast tonight."

Before anyone could respond, a loud 'thump' was heard nearby, accompanied by a sudden vibration at their feet. When another thump was heard, Wrex and his hunting party looked around, trying to find the source of the commotion with their weapons at the ready as they backed into each other. All was silent until the earth nearby broke apart in an explosion of dirt as a large creature burst from the ground, like a Thresher Maw. As it stood to its full height, they were able to see that it was a bipedal reptile much larger creature than the animals they'd just hunted; it was covered in dirty-green scales, and much of its body was covered in tooth-like spines, particularly on its large, thick tail, along the length of its spine, and on its pronounced underbite. Like the horned animals, it had a pair of powerful legs and strong, but stubby arms, and it viewed the world through a pair of small, yellow eyes.

Sniffing the air, the creature turned its attention towards them, throwing its head around as it let out a loud, booming roar that strained the Krogans' ear protection, disorienting them as the sound that came out of its fanged maw sounded more like a bomb going off than any animal Wrex had ever heard.

"Gun that thing down!" Wrex bellowed out.

The four Krogan sighted the creature, firing off their main weapons at it at Wrex's order; it didn't even recoil in pain as it charged towards them, saliva running off from the corners of its fang-laden maw. In a feat of agility disproportionate to its size, the creature's powerful legs brought the creature halfway towards the hunting party in three steps,

"Hit the dirt!"

All four of them ducked for cover as the creature got closer, barely flinching as it came upon one Krogan in blue armor that kept firing his Striker at the monster even as it continued its charge. The animal ignored the explosive rounds that detonated against its scales and sent the poor sod flying into a large rock with a swing of its massive head, the assault rifle dropped from his hand on impact. As the hunter tried to get his bearings back, the titanic creature was already upon him, its fanged maw open wide before snapping him up headfirst in a single bite, its teeth digging into his breastplate. The Krogan hunter's legs could be seen flailing in a panic, the sharp crack of the hunter's armor added to the cacophony of desperation over his screams of rage as he tried to free himself.

The rest of the hunting party leveled their weapons at the creature, shooting at its jaw in an attempt to get it to put their colleague down. Instead, the animal thrashed its prey around several times, before slamming its jaw to the ground, driving its teeth deeper into its prey's armor. It ignored their attempts to free their comrade in favor of slamming its jaw on the floor, this time drawing blood. Undeterred, Wrex lowered his shotgun to clench his offhand, channeling a blue aura into his fist before sending a biotic Throw towards the animal, striking it in the head with enough force to knock around an air car; its head lolled in the air as though it were punched in the face, nearly dropping its prey.

The animal turned its attention towards Wrex, glaring hatefully at him. It was silent for a few seconds as it stared at the Battlemaster with barely-restrained rancor before clenching its teeth with a sickening crunch, finally killing the struggling Krogan in its mouth. The green monster threw the nearly-bisected Krogan at Wrex with a tremendous amount of power, forcing him to erect a biotic barrier to deflect the improvised projectile. As its yellow eyes glowed red with rage, a life of eternal violence told through the many claret scars on its body made themselves known as its muscles threatened to burst from its darkening, scaly hide along the length of tooth-lined seams. The animal threw its head around, its roar even louder with anger.

Before anyone could respond, the animal raised its leg and planted its foot to the ground with its entire mass, shaking the ground with enough force to throw everyone off...however, it ignored everyone else in favor of charging Wrex. Its head was reared back, ready to slam him into another wall like it did the first Krogan; the impact was reduced by the barrier, but it still hit with enough force to dispel the barrier and send him to the ground and on his back. Unlike the poor sod that the animal threw at him, Wrex was able to keep a grip on his Spike Thrower, firing two more shots at it before rolling away just in time to avoid getting scooped up into its fang-laden maw and firing another volley of spikes at its eye.

The shamaness and the remaining hunter were able to get their bearings back to reposition at the flanks of the beast, hoping to wear it down under a hail of mass accelerator fire. As its anger reached a zenith, the hunting party noted a cloud of dark vapor billowing from its mouth, crackling with red lightning; the monster took a deep, wheezing breath before spewing forth a beam of scarlet energy from its mouth in a wide arc in front of it, the dark smoke thickening into a dark cloud. While everyone else was able to find cover, Wrex had no time to evade, and threw up another barrier just in time for the deadly stormfront to roll over; he watched as both his biotic and kinetic barriers were dispelled upon contact with the black cloud moments before he was swept up off his feet and knocked back by the force of the storm.

As he stood back up, Wrex saw the animal slowly walking up to him, an almost triumphant look in its eyes, saliva trailing from the corners of its fang-lined maw. One of his fellow hunters had charged from his hiding place with the intent of tripping it up only for the monster to bat him away with a sweep of its massive tail, while the shamaness was forced back into her cover when it used its jaw to lob a nearby boulder in her direction.

Focusing his biotics in his hand with the intent of throwing a Warp at the monster, Wrex looked on in shock when he noted that the biotic aura had fizzled out almost as soon as he'd summoned it. Looking back at the monster as it neared him, he could only smile as he raised Maw Crusher to the creature's head; he could not deny the tremble of fear in his bones at the thought of fighting such a vicious monster without his biotics, and yet his hearts were thrumming with excitement at the challenge. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced since he'd taken on that Thresher Maw on foot.

Before the animal could strike, Wrex saw something leaping from out of nowhere. Trained eyes were able to make sense of the chaos as he identified the newcomer. The alien had the proportions of a more robust Asari or a male Batarian, and he wore some kind of animal-shaped helmet with false feather pieces on his head, along with dark gray gauntlets and a waist wrap; his chest and legs were clad in red armor and pants. In his hands was a strange-looking green weapon with teeth along the edges, and swelling muscles like the creature; it gave him the impression of a large, high-tech, double-bitted axe. As he was busy fighting the green animal, the alien was soon joined by an even smaller, furry alien with a large, knapped glass cleaver on a stick in one paw, and a large, red pot with a small rope held on its back.

Engrossed from watching the alien fighting the green monster, Wrex was almost startled when he heard a feminine voice beside him speaking in gibberish nearby. He turned to see another alien to his left; the armored contours under the ratty leather robes was more true to the appearance to a real Asari, even sounded like one. As she spoke, she was waving her hand towards herself frantically, indicating that he should follow her.

"I would recommend that we follow her, Wrex," said the shamaness, coming out of hiding from a nearby rock.

Seeing no other alternatives, Wrex stood up and followed the alien and the shamaness. The three of them were met by an even smaller, furry alien and the only other Krogan hunter to survive the expedition met at an outcrop near the battleground. "You okay, Darg?" asked Wrex

"I'll live," answered the hunter.

"Wait right here, I'm gonna help him out."

Noticing that he was walking back towards the monster, the taller, Asari-like alien raised an arm and shoved him back, nodding her head in the negative; that she was able to push him back at all was a surprise to the Battlemaster.

As he was about to retort, Wrex noted the shamaness's hand on his shoulder. "Don't interfere. We've been unable to do much against that animal, but apparently they can."

He looked back at the fight, and saw that her compatriot was busy fighting the monster with his fancy axe. From the way he moved, the alien in red knew what he was doing, avoiding foot plants and tail swipes, while he got a few swings of his axe in. His diminutive partner on the other hand, worked in concert with him to help divert as much of the monster's attention on it, slashing at the monster with its cleaver. The alien in red called to his partner, saying something that he couldn't understand as he drew the monster's attention, dealing more decisive blows to it as the smaller alien pulled the pot off its holster, before taking out a pair of small rocks and striking them against the rope.

With a sudden burst of speed, the taller alien sheathed his axe to run up a ledge, and kicked off of it to land on the creature's back, wasting no time in drawing a large knife from the small of his back, repeatedly stabbing into the monster with ferocity. As he held on and attacked the monster, the smaller alien managed to strike up a flame against the rope, throwing the rocks aside to pick up the pot with both paws. With a strength disproportionate to its size, the smaller alien threw the pot at the monster with a running start, the apparent bomb exploding upon contact with its neck.

The taller alien in red sheathed his knife in favor of the complicated axe on his back, drawing it in one smooth motion while hitting a trigger in the grip, sending the blade on one side slid along a rail before pulling the blade on the other end back and locking in place to become a large sword. With a single thrust, the alien in red stabbed the monster in the wound, his weapon letting out a cacophony of mechanical whining and hissing before exploding and throwing him off the animal. As he landed, the sword had folded away, turning into an axe as the alien stared up at the green menace, the monster roaring in rage. As it turned to leave, the animal grabbed one of the carcasses that Wrex and his hunting party had shot dead before vacating the area.

The survivors of the hunting party were stunned; they were barely able to hurt this creature with their guns, and yet this alien in red armor with his primitive weapon was able to fight that thing off. There was one question on their mind:

Who were these people?

…

[Tevos's Apartment]

Tevos sat in her apartment with a glass of Serrice Republic ice brandy next to her as she relaxed on her couch. Taking a careful swig, Tevos savored the sweet and bitter flavor of her drink as contemplated the things that she had to deal with…on top of the daily paperwork that was par the course for her position as Councilor, she had the fact that there was no response hitherto from the expedition to Sector X.

There was so much promise on the other side of that relay: mining prospects for new and exotic materials; potential colonization rights; even a potential client race for the Citadel to help fight against the Batarians should the time come. Though the risk of encountering races like the Rachni -or, Goddess-forbid, the Yahg!- was always there, it was a danger that came with the territory of exploring an unopened relay. It was a big reason why she indulged in the Rydia Twins' demands to explore Sector X: to see if the potential was there.

Another reason she'd allowed them to go was based on a finding that had come up when the Oracles had discovered something from the Prothean beacon on Thessia. Like everyone in the inner circle, she was aware of the Republics' deepest, darkest secret, and how it was responsible for their rise to power. One particular bit of knowledge that interested her was a set of coordinates leading to Relay X, along with whisperings of the word "sanctuary." There was no rhyme or reason behind the word, much less data on what was behind the relay, just the word "sanctuary" being repeated over and over in relation to those coordinates.

While the existence of the beacon was a secret even to the Asari public, the theory that the Protheans had somehow survived was a source of contention among many Asari scholars studying the Prothean Extinction Event…one of whom was already through Relay X. The idea that the Protheans were in Sector X was a can of worms that was just waiting to be opened…the potential of a war to secure an alliance with the surviving Protheans was a threat that could not be ignored. And for that reason, she'd approved of the expedition without letting them know what to expect.

Still, there was one thought that bothered Gorgo: what were the Protheans running from in this galaxy that they'd risk death and possible extinction going to a new one?

…

Codex

Brumak Light Tactical Vehicle

On Tuchanka, the gigantic Brumak is a predator that is sometimes hunted by Krogans for meat. It is believed that short of Thresher Maws, nothing beats a Brumak.

Building on the success of the Tomkah, some Krogan engineers during the rebellions had recognized the use of smaller, faster vehicles that could serve as a vanguard; the result is the Brumak Light Tactical Vehicle which has been the spearhead of many attacks on Turian patrols. It is a smaller vehicle with a hull and frame made with the same materials as the Tomkah that drives on four wheels, but is no less reliable than its larger cousin. Standard on all designs is the addition of a removable general-purpose machine gun mounted on a swivel on the back, which can serve just as well in an anti-vehicle role, as well as an anti-personnel weapon.

After the Krogan Rebellions, many Brumaks on Tuchanka have been decommissioned in an effort to demilitarize the Krogans…however, models from all over the galaxy have been salvaged by the Athame Initiative from old battlefields and modified to provide a reliable mode of transportation for the explorers.

…

A/N: Now we've covered Wrex.

With any luck, we'll have come to a decision on who comes next.

Again, kudos to ravenking64 for being the beta-reader for this story.

Please PM or review to me if you have a character you want to show up with the following info:

Name:

Race: Human or Wyverian (They're the only races we see doing any active hunting)

Gender: No transgenders, please! I doubt Monster Hunter-verse has the materials necessary to even have transgenders.

Sexual Identity: Gay? Straight? Bi? Omni?

Age:

Height: In centimeters (please make it believable)

Weight: In kilograms

Body Type: Slim, Muscular?

Skin Color:

Eye Color:

Hair Color:

Notable Features: Tattoos, scars, amputations, etc.

Personality:

History: Just a little of what they've done before going to the New World, like what was the biggest monster they killed, or where they come from. That, and what they've been doing while in the New World.

Guild Status: Are they still active? If not, then what do they do now? Are they Guild Knights?

Handler: Do they answer to a Handler, or to a receptionist? If they answer to a Handler, give a brief description of them; name, gender, personality.

Hunter Rank: Are they Low- or High-ranked? (No Master-Rank please, we're not on Iceborne yet)

Equipment: Just what weapon they normally use, and the armor they're wearing (No higher than High-rank)

Knife: Describe the knife they carry (this is optional)

Palico Name: Name your Hunter's Palico

Palico Description: Describe the physical appearance; tail length, fur thickness, eye color, etc.

Palico Equipment: Describe the Palico's weapon, gear, and armor

Palico Personality: Describe the Palico's demeanor